What a lovely film. I'm a big fan of stories set in modern Wales because it's a very different vibe to the romanticized Irish and Scottish stories aimed at American sentimentality. Characters in Welsh stories are more real, there is something more practical about them and their version of rural drugs and violence. Its more light-hearted than Twin Town a previous favorite of mine, this is a romcom where the protagonists have layers upon layers to their flaws. It's not obvious where they are going or that their story is inevitable. It pokes gently at some well-worn tropes.
Great atmosphere, feel of a declining seaside town short of jobs but where people still know how to have a good time. They mention the mainland a lot, I am don't know which island in South Wales it is, but its isolation adds to the story in the sense the rules are different here. The locals are all on the make, doing whatever is necessary, the police are inept but also probably know everyone, maybe turn a blind eye to family and neighbors. I also like the way everything changes over one night, their lives, their feelings, what the story is even about. With shifts through the landscape of night, dates gone wrong, clubs and drinking, hospitals and cells, pre-dawn roads and morning resolutions.
The writing and dialogue are excellent. I thought it was going to be a capsule film at the start, but it goes off the rails beautifully.
